Washington School District buys Retos mansion for $2,000
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
The home of George Retos at the corner of East Wheeling Street and LeMoyne Avenue
The home of George Retos at the corner of East Wheeling Street and LeMoyne Avenue
Some have called East Washington’s LeMoyne Avenue “the Gold Coast” because of its stately homes, many surrounded by spreading trees and landscaping.
So when a property transfer appearing in Sunday’s Observer-Reporter showed the Washington School District buying a home at 103 LeMoyne Ave. from George Retos for $2,000, the purchase was anything but run-of-the-mill.
The Washington County tax assessment website shows a total value of the property at $361,000.
The Victorian-style brick home was built in 1888, and a 16-foot-by-34-foot in-ground pool was added in 1960. Real estate listings have referred to the property as “stunning,” with a wrap-around porch, three-car detached garage, four bedrooms and three full bathrooms.
What the property transfer notice doesn’t reflect is that U.S. Marshals auctioned the premises on a cold February day after federal court denied Retos’ request for an emergency stay or postponement.
The school district was the sole bidder, and $2,000 was the minimum purchase price.
“We haven’t paid a nickel because we’re writing a check to ourselves,” said Rick Mancini, director of Washington School District operations.
“The federal government has waived all of their liens. It was about $17,000.”
Don’t look for the district to host poolside school board meetings or even post a “for sale” sign anytime soon.
“We have not been indoors,” said Mancini, who noted he thinks the home is still occupied.
Any eviction cannot take place for months, and would be stayed if the school district receives payment of taxes due during that time, according to Mancini.
The school district’s goal is to eventually sell the home at a fair market price.
“All we want is what is due the district,” Mancini said.
He placed the amount of the debt at “a little over $200,000 in school district and East Washington real estate taxes.”
Retos, 69, was indicted on 13 counts by a federal grand jury a month after the U.S. Marshals’ sale.
The charges include wire fraud, tax evasion, conspiracy to defraud the United States, false bankruptcy declaration and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.
In a statement last March, Retos maintained “the allegations are a misrepresentation of facts” and that through plastics manufacturing operations his goal was to bring jobs to the area.
“Like most start-up businesses, we struggled with cash flow issues, and many far-greater challenges that we ever anticipated,” the statement continued.
“As a result, we, along with our dedicated employees, suffered both business and personal losses. The plant closing put over 60 good people out of work.”
The online federal court docket indicates the matter will come before a judge for a trial as early as January. Retos remains free on $25,000 unsecured bond, according to court records.
Retos was a local attorney who represented the Washington County Authority and county Industrial Development Authority before a 1992 indictment that resulted in his conviction by a federal jury on tax evasion and other charges.
Soon afterward, Retos resigned his solicitorships and relinquished his license to practice law.
In 1995, after a failed attempt to have his conviction overturned by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, Retos was sentenced to serve 27 months in a minimum security federal prison in Morgantown, W.Va.
Retos was also ordered to pay a $30,000 fine and restitution of $42,886 to former clients.